Arts and Crafts: Memorial Pillow and New Sling Bag!

If you have been around the blog this year, you know I lost one of my puppers. She was a sweetheart and LOVED to wear scarves. I got her into it as she was jelly of my other dog wearing coats (dobies are notorious for hating the cold and have a thin coat). She was a malamute (translation: fur, upon fur upon fur, upon... well you get it) so a coat for her would have been cruel. I decided that perhaps she would like a scarf instead and thus was born an obsession where she hated to go a day without one. She was sad when one was taken off (or walked off depending on how dirty she got it) and was elated when a new one was tied around her neck. Since she was my cousin's dog first and my aunt knew about the obsession I created, I decided to do some memory pillows out of her scarves. One for me and one for my aunt. I made hers first and still have to find the courage to make mine. Anyway, short story long here is the pillow:

This is actually a in the hoop embroidery design from Sweet Pea. You make each section and then sew them together. The grey and the black with paw print fabrics were my base and the rest were parts of her scarves she wore. Hopefully my aunt will get it soon.

And speaking of puppy crafts...

I needed a bag to carry my essentials for puppy classes for the monster pup. I didn't want to end up carrying too much so I took a small bag pattern I had and made it smaller. :) Just enough to fit essentials and my epi pens. This is the Speedwell Sling Bag by Blue Calla Patterns.

I would say this pattern is an intermediate one but the directions are clear so if you are up to it, I say try it even if you are a beginner. My biggest problems is that I reduced it by 15% so some of the details were a bit harder, but it was still doable. The parts I added was a zipper pocket in the back compartment for my epipens. I also lined it with insul-fleece by Pellon. That way my epipens stay at a more consistent temperature. Epipens should not be out in hot weather and never leave them in a car. Hopefully that addition will keep my medical supplies safe as possible.

I also added one of my charms and an embroidered note. If you are noticing the zipper, I added 2 metal zippers and crossed them at the top so it zips up on both ends to the top. I learned a lot about zippers with this one and a previous project. I'm becoming quite knowledgeable about them. More than I wanted to know, in fact! LOL I also added snaps to the pockets to keep things separated. The  pocket was exactly the right size for the epipens and I couldn't have gone any smaller. The bag is not big as it is written either (so it would be good for those not wanting a big bag).

I also added card slots in the front section. Your cards go "sideways" to fit. That way I created 6 slots and a pocket in the back. The original pattern just had the slip pocket. The zippered section is also part of the pattern. I did reduce the grommets to 1/4" instead of 1/2" to fit the ascetics. The grommets are so you can put earphones or electronic cords through. You can still get the earphones to go through it, but you have to slip it through with the plug end. The earphone section will not fit through it but I felt that wasn't needed in my case. I did add charms for bling and the front 2 charms on my bag each represent my 2 dogs. Also, the glitter on the bag is a glitter canvas and not glitter marine vinyl. I have a domestic machine which is good on most things but I still have to watch the thickness. A good canvas backed glitter with a think vinyl coating worked well here and should also wear well.

While this bag isn't recommend for a beginner, I do think that someone who hasn't been sewing long could tackle this bag easily. It looks harder than it is and this was the first time I put together a bag where you use a seam binding. It was much easier than I thought it would be and because of the binding there was no saggy lining. 

Hope this inspires you to tackle your projects! 

🎒